


5 times Caleb and Adam fell asleep in the other person's bed and it was Soft and 1 time it was Chaos

by CrayolaRainbow



Category: The Bright Sessions (Podcast), The Infinite Noise - Lauren Shippen
Genre: 5+1 Things, Crying, Domestic Fluff, Dorks, Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Homework, Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Mario Party, Married Couple, Men Crying, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Sexual Content, Movie Night, Mushy, Nightmares, Not Creepy, Nudity, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Pre-Relationship, Romantic Fluff, Sleep, Sleepiness, Sleepovers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Caleb Michaels, Trans Male Character, Watching Someone Sleep, at the end, in chapter 5, its my brand cant you tell, its romantical, soft, surprise in the +1 they're married, terms of endearment, they talk about blow jobs folks, tom hardy's lips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22965208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrayolaRainbow/pseuds/CrayolaRainbow
Summary: The Boys take naps together, and one of them looks on. It's very soft.Until its Absolute Fucking Chaos
Relationships: Adam Hayes/Caleb Michaels
Comments: 18
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am a fool who thought I could write this in one day, and also thought it'd mayybe be 3k.
> 
> It's been a week, and I've written the 5, i just need to finish up the +1. The final product should be in the neighborhood of 7.5-8k
> 
> Thank you to the wonderful Maika for beta-ing this for me!
> 
> The idea is for this to lead up to March 8th, which is the in-universe date that episodes 49 and 50 happened. AKA the episodes where everyone falls asleep. Appropriate, right? I got excited and wanted to post the first chapter on Feb. 29th though, so you get chapter 1 a little early!

Adam is fucking exhausted. His dad had decided that today was the day they had to clean the entire fucking house. Windows, dusting, deep cleaning the carpets, the whole 9 yards. His shoulders ache under his backpack as he walks up to Caleb’s front door. The door is locked, but he knows where the spare key is.

Adam stands on his tip toes and reaches for where the key rests on top of the window trimming. Damn tall people. He must look like an idiot reaching up to get it. His fingers barely brush the tip of the key and he scrapes it off the trim and into the flower bed below. He brushes off the dirt and unlocks the door before returning the key to its hiding spot.

He makes a beeline to Caleb’s room, pausing only to take his shoes off by the door. He dumps his backpack by Caleb’s dresser and flops down onto the bed. Caleb should be home in about… 15 minutes. Adam will just lay here and wait, maybe scroll through twitter on his phone a little. Caleb’s bed is very soft and warm and smells like him. Adam melts against his pillow and curls up. He closes his eyes and breathes in the smell of Caleb. There’s no harm in taking a little cat nap until Caleb gets home, right?

~~~

Caleb opens the door in a rush. He kicks his shoes off and they land next to Adam’s sneakers. Fuck, he’s so excited to see his boyfriend. He barrels up the stairs two at a time, not caring about how loud he is. His mom will be home from work soon, but for a few minutes there's nobody to yell at him about how loud he’s being.

He opens his bedroom door and looks around for Adam. His eyes skip over the bed and the desk chair, but he doesn't see him. He doesn’t feel any of Adam’s familiar blue encompassing him and making him _green_. The bathroom door is open and the light is off.

Caleb checks the clock. 5:30. Adam should be here, somewhere. Caleb turns to go look for him downstairs, but then he sees Adam curled up on the bed and his heart melts.

Adam’s face is softer than usual as he snores quietly. There's a tiny spot of drool on his pillow. He has a little smile on his face that Caleb wants to kiss, but he holds in the urge, lest he wakes Adam. Caleb can’t help but smile as he puts his duffle bag in the closet.

Caleb grabs his softest blanket and carefully lays it over Adam, trying not to wake him. He presses a kiss to Adam’s forehead and grabs Adam’s phone and plugs it into the charger.

Adam had texted him earlier, complaining about the deep clean his dad was doing. Caleb knew he was tired, and had tried to convince Adam not to come, but Adam had insisted. Caleb knew for a fact that his boyfriend had stayed up way too late the night before talking with Caleb on the phone until Caleb drifted off, and probably stayed up for at least another hour afterwards. So Caleb is content to leave Adam asleep, because God knows he needs it.

He takes a quick shower to get the sweat and grime off from practice. He makes sure to remember to grab a new set of clothes _before_ going in, lest he forgets again that Adam’s asleep in the bedroom when he comes out.

‘Lest’. Caleb snorts. He really is dating Adam.

After he finishes in the shower, Caleb opens his laptop and fucks around while he waits for Adam to wake up, or for his mom to make dinner, whichever comes first. He keeps switching between the essay that he’s supposed to finish before Sunday night, scrolling through instagram, and playing Stardew Valley.

He steals glances at Adam often. His chest feels all bubbly and warm and _green_ and he knows that the feelings are his alone. He loves it, loves Adam. He loves this boy so fucking much.

Almost an hour after Caleb gets home, he starts to feel little curls of blue flickering at his heart. He looks over at the bed to see Adam sit up and rub at his eyes, the blanket falling off his shoulders.

Adam takes inventory of the bed, noting the blanket now covering his legs and his phone now plugged into the charger. His blue unfurls like a flower blooming, waking up with Adam. It brushes against Caleb’s buttery yellow and makes warm green inside, filling Caleb up.

“Hey sleepyhead,” Caleb says softly, a little smile on his face.

Adam looks up, and Caleb feels a spike of panic come from him. “Shit, I’m sorry babe. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. How long was I out?”

Caleb checks the clock on his laptop. “Like, at least an hour.”

Adam’s eyes open almost comically wide. “Dude, you should’ve woken me up! We were supposed to work on your essay, and _ugh_.” He flops over backwards. “I’m sorry.”

Caleb closes the laptop and joins Adam on the bed. He curls up behind him and buries his face in Adam’s sweatshirt hood. ( _His_ sweatshirt originally, he's almost certain.) “No, baby, don’t be sorry. I’m glad you got to sleep. I got a lot of work done while you were asleep anyways.”

Adam turns around in Caleb’s arms and cocks an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yes really!” He had! A little. He wasn’t useless without Adam, he was just struggling with the prompt. He’d found a couple more sources he could _maybe_ use, but beyond that he was stuck.

“Progress in your essay, or progress in Stardew Valley?” Adam asks suspiciously. Adam knew him too well. (Adam also knew about Caleb’s struggles with this essay, since Caleb had spent most of their pizza Wednesday date whining about it.)

Caleb gasps, mock offended. “My essay! Aaand maybe some progress in Stardew too.”

Adam laughs. “That’s what I thought, you meathead.” He kisses Caleb’s chin.

“Dork.” Caleb kisses Adam’s nose. “You can help me with it after dinner, sound good?”

“Sounds good.” Adam pauses. “When’s dinner?”

Caleb cranes his neck to look at the clock. “We probably have like 15 minutes or so until my mom calls us down to set the table.”

Adam smiles and it fills Caleb with warmth. He loves Adam’s smile so fucking much. “I wonder how we can fill the time.”

Caleb presses a soft kiss to Adam’s smile. “I have an idea.”


	2. Chapter 2

Caleb shows up right as they’re finishing dinner. His arms are full with his pillow and a blanket, and Adam’s pretty sure he sees the head of a stuffed animal behind the mass of fabric. Adam gives Caleb a peck on the lips before taking the stuff from his arms and the bag off his back.

“Thanks again for letting me stay over, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes,” Caleb says in the middle of the handoff. “My dad’s on a tight deadline and the house is a mess of emotions right now.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all dear,” Mrs. Hayes says. “Would you like to come join us for dinner? We’re just finishing up, but you’re welcome to eat, we have plenty.”

Caleb looks at Adam, who shrugs. “I just ate, but I’m not going to turn down free food,” Caleb says.

“I’m gonna go take this upstairs while you eat,” Adam says.

Caleb gives him a peck on the cheek, before turning to raid the dinner table. Adam smiles as he walks up the stairs and buries his face in the soft fleece of Caleb’s blanket, so nobody can see his dumb smile from a little kiss on the cheek from his boyfriend.

He dumps the blanket and pillow onto his bed and sets the backpack on the floor by his dresser. Caleb only brought this much stuff in case he gets relegated to the guest room, but Adam’s pretty sure he can convince his parents to let Caleb sleep in his room. They’re not going to _do_ anything. Probably. They’re just going to stay up late watching movies and playing Mario Party.

There’s a soft knock on the door a few minutes later. Caleb opens the door slowly. “You decent, babe?”

Adam snorts. “Yeah, I’m decent. Come in.” He’s bent over the TV, plugging in the GameCube so they can play 50 turn Mario Party later.

Caleb whistles. “Damn right you’re decent.”

Adam turns his head to look at Caleb. “ _Really?_ I mean, _really_. Real original.” Adam tries hard to make his face look disappointed, but he’s failing miserably.

“What! I like your butt, sue me.” Caleb grins like the idiot he is and puts the bowl he’s carrying down on Adam’s desk. Caleb kisses the top of Adam’s head. “Love you, dork.

“Love you too, meathead.”

Caleb pulls away, but Adam stands up straight (ha, as if) and pulls him back in. “Hey, where are you going?”

Adam wraps his arms around Caleb’s neck and rises up on his toes to kiss him. Caleb’s arm goes around his waist and he holds him as Adam melts against him. Caleb tastes like lemonade and popcorn. His other hand goes into Adam’s curls, tucking up under his beanie. Adam’s heart squeezes, and his toes curl in his socks. He’s so fucking in love with this boy. Adam feels golden warm filling him from his head to his toes. A symphony plays in his head, and he feels dizzy. He’s not sure if it's from love, or from the lack of oxygen. The break briefly for air and Caleb walks them backwards until they fall onto Adam’s bed.

They stay like that for a few minutes, legs tangling together as they dangle off the side of the bed. Eventually, Caleb pulls away.

“I made popcorn,” he says. He kisses the pulse point under Adam’s jaw.

“I can tell,” Adam says breathlessly. “Y’ wanna go eat some?”

“I _suppose_.”

The popcorn is cold by the time they get to it, but it still tastes good. Adam runs back downstairs to grab snacks and drinks and a few more blankets. 

He kicks the door open, and nearly drops his haul. Caleb has transformed his room into a little blanket fort. The quilt from Adam’s bed covers the TV, weighed down by books on the bed. The starry fabric is lit up from underneath and looks really fucking cool. Adam peeks his head under the blanket.

“Hi baby!” Caleb beams and looks very proud of himself, for good reasons. “Surprise!”

Adam gapes. Caleb has taken all the pillows off of Adam’s bed and arranged them in front of the TV. He got white string lights from somewhere and they light up the edges of the fort. Caleb sits in the middle of it all, with the blankets from Adam’s bed cascading down his broad shoulders. Adam’s never been more in love.

Caleb pats the pillow next to him. “Join me.”

Adam shoves the snacks and extra blankets at Caleb before scrambling in. “What the fuck babe, I was gone for like, 5 minutes.”

“Oh, it was easy. Alice and I used to make blanket forts all the time when we were younger. If I had a bit more time I could’ve been more elaborate, but I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, you did.” Adam kisses Caleb softly. Caleb’s eyelashes brush against Adam’s cheeks. His freshly shaved buzz cut tingles under Adam’s palm as he holds the back of Caleb’s head.

Adam pulls away, pleased when Caleb tries to follow. Caleb whines a little and Adam files that noise away in his heart.

“I love you,” Adam says.

“I know,” Caleb says cheekily.

Adam smacks his arm. “Asshole.”

“Dork.”

“Meathead,” Adam says fondly.

“What did you grab?” Caleb asks, unburying the snacks Adam shoved in his lap. “Oooo, baby carrots!”

“I also made some brownies earlier.”

“Oh fuck yeah.”

Caleb opens the bag of carrots and sets them between his legs. The plate of brownies rests on the floor in front of them between their legs, and Adam takes the bag of doritos and sticks it between his legs.

Adam hands a controller to Caleb. “You ready to get your ass beat?”

Caleb takes it and their fingers brush, like they’re in a Jane Austen movie. “Oh you’re on. Prepare to go down, Hayes.”

~~~

Several hours later sees them on Adam’s bed. Adam beat Caleb in a stunning turn of events, aided by the idiotic AI. 

They’d moved to the bed after the game finished, and tore down the blanket fort. Caleb and Adam are now buried under a mountain of blankets and pillows, just how Adam likes it.

It’s almost 1 am. He scrolls through tumblr endlessly on his laptop, waiting for sleep to knock. Caleb’s arm is slung over his waist and his warm body presses up against Adam. Caleb had fallen asleep almost as soon as they moved to the bed. He was chatting quietly with Adam about nothing in particular one moment, and was out cold the next.

Adam wishes every night could be like this. 6-foot-something of jock in his bed, spooning him. It’s a tight squeeze with two teen boys, even if Adam’s much smaller than Caleb, but one day…. Maybe one day they’ll have a bigger bed in their own house with no parents to judge them. One day, every night will be like this.

Adam shuts his laptop and sets it on the nightstand. He feels tired in his bones as he slides farther under the covers and nestles himself into Caleb’s arms. He presses a kiss to Caleb’s shoulder, before shutting his eyes.

He falls asleep faster and sleeps better than he has in months.


	3. Chapter 3

He’s at school. He’s not sure how he knows, but he is. The hallway is clinically white and sterile feeling like a hospital, but the shape of it is exactly like his school. He’s not sure why he’s here. Is it something he did?

He panics and turns around to try to leave.

“Hello, Adam.”

It’s… Annabelle? Why is she at his school?

His aunt stands in the middle of the hall, hands on her hips, with a big smile on her face. It doesn’t look right. Adam feels a pit of unease grow in his stomach.

“Annabelle, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” she says, her voice sickly sweet. It drips in his ears like sludge and turns his thoughts to molasses.

She grabs his shoulders and starts to steer him in the opposite direction. As he turns, he sees something behind her.

“Caleb?” He calls.

“Adam?!” Caleb shouts, and fuck, shit, fuck, he sounds so panicked. Adam hates it. “Adam, help, she’s trying to hurt me!”

“Caleb!” Adam shouts and twists in Annabelle’s arms. “Let me go, let me go!”

“Shhh, everything’s going to be fine,” Annabelle whispers in his ear. “Stop struggling, you’ll only hurt yourself. Again.”

“No, no, please.” He reaches past her, trying to get to Caleb, to grab him, to touch him, to hold him, but he can’t fucking reach. His arms are too fucking short and Annabelle won't stop pulling him away, and Caleb won’t fucking _move_.

Annabelle sets him down a few feet down the hallway and turns back towards Caleb.

“Now, where were we.”

Annabelle pulls something out of her pocket and holds it down at her side. The tip glints in the too bright lighting of the hallway. It’s a syringe.

Adam tries to run over, to knock it out of her hand, but he can’t move his feet. He tries and tries, screaming in frustration. He can’t get his stupid body to do what he wants. He can’t save Caleb.

“Now, don’t worry Mr. Michaels,” Annabelle says. “Everything is going to be fine.” She grabs Caleb’s arm in a vice grip, not moving even as he struggles against it.

“No, no, no, no, no.” Adam cries.

She holds up the syringe and the needle glints menacingly in the white light.

“ _NO!_ ” Adam screams.

“Don’t worry,” she says. “This will only hurt a little.”

_”I’ll only hurt him a little, I’ll only hurt him a little, I’ll only hurt him a little.”_ Damien’s voice thunders through his ears, filling the hallway.

She jams the needle into Caleb’s arm.

The effects are immediate. Caleb seethes and breathes harshly through his teeth as the liquid fills his bloodstream. He’s trembling as Annabelle removes the syringe. Caleb screams in pain and falls to the ground. Annabelle steps back so he won’t fall onto her perfect shoes. She looks at him like he’s a stain on her perfect white carpet. Caleb writhes on the floor screaming, just out of reach of her shoes.

“Anabelle, _please_ ,” Adam moans as Caleb screams. " _Please_ , you have to stop this. Why are you hurting him?”

“Hurting him? Oh no, Adam. I’m not hurting him. I’m _helping_ him!” She simpers. “Freaks like him don’t deserve to live. They’ll only hurt themselves or others if they stay. And Caleb has already hurt so many people. It’s only a matter of time before he hurts you. And I can’t let _anything_ hurt you, Adam.”

Adam wants to throw up. The pit in his stomach feels like a bowling ball, weighing him down. He still can’t move his fucking twizler legs. Caleb screams and screams and screams. Tears fall down Adam’s face. He can’t look away from Caleb’s writhing form on the ground.

The screaming stops suddenly. Caleb twitches and whimpers. Adam wants to rush over and hug him, but he _can’t_. The bowling ball moves to his throat as the twitching slows and the whimpers grow quiet.

Silence.

“Well, that took him long enough.” Annabelle looks at Caleb in disgust. “I’ll have to call someone to dispose of the body.”

The. Body?

Adam falls to his knees.

“Come now, Adam, there’s no need to be dramatic. I’ll take you home.” Annabelle walks past, not even sparing him a glance.

Adam crawls over to Caleb’s body, finally able to move. He holds him in his arms. He can feel him getting colder.

“No no no no no no no. Caleb? Come on, wake up you meathead. Caleb, please, this isn’t funny. Wake up, wake UP.” Adam’s sobbing and his tears fall onto Caleb’s face. Neither of them wipe them away. 

Adam wakes up in a cold sweat. He breathes deep gasping lungfuls of air and wipes away the tears from his face. He scrambles to find his phone, following the charging cable to where it's tucked underneath his pillow. His hands shake as he unlocks the phone.

He sniffles as he checks his texts with Caleb. Nothing since a couple hours ago, which isn’t surprising considering its 3 am. Nothing since Caleb had sent “Goodnight!” With half a dozen green hearts.

Adam hits the call button before he can talk himself out of it.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” he whispers.

There's a click, and then: “Hullo?”

Adam sobs.

“Adam, what’s wrong?” Caleb asks.

“Nightmare,” Adam chokes out. “Needed. Needed to know you were okay.”

“Yeah, babe, I’m fine. Are you okay?”

“No,” Adam whimpers. He needs to see Caleb, he can’t trust the phone, can’t trust that Annabelle hasn’t taken Caleb away.

“Do you need me to come over?”

Adam nods, before remembering that Caleb can’t see him. “Yeah,” he says, and his voice cracks.

“Okay, um. I’ll be there in about 15 minutes or so. Do you need me to stay on the phone?”

“No. Just, get here soon, please?”

“Of course babe. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Adam whispers.

~~~

Before he even hangs up, Caleb springs into action. He unplugs his laptop and grabs his homework off the desk and shoves both of them into his backpack. He ends the call with Adam and does a spin around his room, trying to think if he’s forgetting anything he needs for school in the morning. Caleb’s tired as hell, but he’ll hate himself later if he forgets something and has to figure out how to get it. He doesn’t have practice, so he doesn’t need to deal with his gear, thank fuck for that.

Caleb shoves a pair of jeans into his backpack and a new shirt. He slips on a pair of socks and shoves a pair of underwear in as an afterthought. Adam will yell at him if he found out Caleb didn’t bring underwear. 

He slings his backpack over his shoulder and goes downstairs as quietly as possible. Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, right? He makes a stop in the kitchen and writes a quick note.

_Mom/Dad_

_Adam called me because he had a nightmare, so I went over to his house to comfort him. It sounds like it was a really bad nightmare, otherwise I wouldn’t be going. I didn’t take the car, since I left around 3. I have all of my stuff for school, so there’s no need to worry._

_Love, Caleb_

Caleb does a pocket pat down before he leaves. Wallet, keys, homework, pants. He’s all set. He puts on his running shoes, re-sets the door alarm, and books it towards Adam’s house.

~~~

Nine minutes after Adam finished the call with Caleb, he gets a text.

Super Trouper: I’m here  
Super Trouper: Can you let me in?

Adam rushes downstairs as fast as he dares, careful to skip the creaky step. He disables the alarm and unlocks the door.

“In, in, quietly. I gotta redo the alarm,” he whispers, ushering Caleb in. He locks the door and taps in the code. As soon as he sets the alarm, Caleb pulls him into a big bear hug.

Adam collapses. He fights back the tears that threaten to spill over. He doesn't want to cry in the entryway. He breathes in Caleb’s musky sweaty smell and listens to his heartbeat. It’s faster than usual, but it’s slowing down. Adam reluctantly pulls away.

“Did you _run_ here?”

“Um, yeah?” Caleb scratches the back of his head.

“But why? You didn’t have to do that, I could wait,” he says, voice full of wonder.

“Babe, you were _crying._ You called me in the middle of the night, crying. Of course I fucking ran over.”

“Oh.”

Caleb gently pulls Adam back into a hug. “C’mon, let's get you back to bed.” He picks Adam up, and Adam buries his face in Caleb’s sweatshirt.

“The fourth step creaks,” he mumbles as Caleb climbs. He deftly skips the step.

Caleb carefully sets Adam down on his bed. Adam scooches over towards the wall to leave room for Caleb. He slides in next to Adam and they just hold each other for a while.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Caleb asks.

“Not right now,” Adam says. “Maybe tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Caleb hesitates. “Do you mind if I fall asleep?”

“No, you can. Just you being here where I can see you is enough.”

Caleb kisses the top of Adam’s head and snuggles up into him, spooning him “G’night. Love you.”

“Good night. Love you too.”

As soon as he’s sure Caleb is asleep, it’s like the dam breaks. The tears come flowing out again, this time in relief.

Caleb is alive. Caleb is here. Nobody is going to hurt him. Nobody is going to take him away.

Adam repeats this mantra to himself, as sleep takes him again.


	4. Chapter 4

Caleb sighs and tosses his pencil onto the desk. “Ugh, I hate trig so fucking much.” It’s late Sunday night and Adam has graciously invited Caleb over to study with him.

“Do you hate it, or does everyone else hate it?” Adam asks, without looking up from his history textbook. He’s sitting criss cross applesauce on his bed, notes spread out around him. Prickles of curiosity betray Adam’s nonchalant attitude.

“How very philosophical of you,” Caleb teases.

“Oh, shut up, you know what I mean.”

Caleb leans back in the desk chair and thinks about it. He’s never really _liked_ math, necessarily. But he used to be a lot better at it than he is now with his empathy.

He sighs. “I don’t _know_. I think it’s both? I hate that I’m too dumb to understand it on my own, which makes me not want to concentrate, and I hate that everyone else’s hate makes it hard to concentrate.”

“Okay, first off, you’re really fucking smart Caleb, so jot that down. You’re only one level below me in math, and _you_ don’t have doctors for parents forcing you to do well in math in the vain hope you’ll go into medicine. You got this far on your own merit, and now life’s throwing you a curveball. I’m not stupider if my depression makes me not want to study. Chloe isn’t stupid for failing her classes because she was distracted by other people’s thoughts. You just have…” Adam pauses. “Really bad test anxiety.”

Caleb snorts. “That’s the fucking understatement of the year.”

“Yeah, well. Look, I know you don't want to get special treatment for tests in high school because you don’t want people to make fun of you, and I get that. But I _really_ think you should look into getting accommodations in college. It’ll be all new people, and if anyone tries to make fun of you, firstly, I will kick their asses, and secondly, you don’t want to be friends with that kind of person anyways.”

“I’d like to see you try to kick their asses.” Caleb smiles. Adam’s peppery red anger feels good against his skin. It’s invigorating.

“There’s nothing wrong in asking for help, Caleb. It doesn’t make you any weaker or stupider. Speaking of which.” Adam slides off the bed and walks over to the desk. “What can I do to help? What are you having troubles with?”

~~~

They stayed up way later than either of them were planning. Caleb crashed in Adam’s bed around 11:30, essay draft submitted before critique the morning. Adam, a perfectionist, is up until 11:59 sharp, tweaking his essay even though it’s only a draft. After that, the adrenaline keeps him awake even longer, but he was expecting that.

Caleb snores softly in the bed next to him, laying half on, half off of Adam’s history notes. He fits right into Adam’s ordered chaos, slots right into his life in ways Adam didn’t know he needed.

He wasn’t lying to Caleb earlier when he told him he’s smart. Caleb is one of the smartest people he knows. He’s wise, when he’s not being a dumb teenager. He surprises Adam all the time, with little anecdotes about the world.

Adam brushes his thumb over Caleb’s buzz cut. It needs a trim soon. His fingers pass through the hair instead of over tiny pricks. He wonders what Caleb’s hair looks like long, if it curls like his sister’s. He’s seen photos of younger Caleb, and distantly remembers a time when it wasn’t kept cropped short, but hair is a strange thing. His cousin used to have loose wavy curls cascading down her back until she cut it to a bob length and it stayed straight, even when she grew it back out.

Adam hopes Caleb’s hair stays curly.

Caleb wakes slowly. “Wha’ time issit?” he mumbles.

“Just past midnight. You need to get home soon, dear.”

Caleb smiles sleepily. “Dear. I like that one.”

Oh!

Adam flushes. He hadn’t noticed it slip out.

“No, no, don’t be embarrassed. I like it. ‘S good.” Caleb half pulls himself up, before collapsing with his arm around Adam’s waist. “Are you sure I can’t spend the night?”

“Yeah, baby, I’m sure. Your curfew is in, like, 20 minutes and I don’t think your parents will be happy if you stayed out on a school night.”

“ _Awwwww._ Stupid rules.” Caleb yawns wide. “I guess I’ll go.” He sits up all the way, careful not to crush Adam’s notes. While he rubs the sleep out of his eyes, Adam gathers them up in a neat pile and drops them off the side of the bed.

Caleb cracks one eye open at the sound. “D’you want me to just put them on the desk for you?”

“If you don’t mind?” Adam says, sheepishly.

“Of course. Anything for my super smart, super hot, super cool and organized boyfriend.”

“Suck up.” Adam grins and shoves Caleb’s side.

“Nah, we don’t have time for that tonight,” Caleb says sleepily.

“ _Caleb!_ ” Adam gasps, part mock scandalized, part actually scandalized.

“What! It’s true! Plus, like, I don’t really wanna right now.”

“I never said we should!”

“Glad we’re in agreement.”

Caleb kisses Adam’s forehead, his cheeks, his chin, and then finally, his lips. Adam moans into the kiss. Caleb tastes like the ice cream they had earlier, like chocolate sauce and raspberries. Caleb pulls away, and Adam whines, just a little.

“I should go, before we get distracted,” Caleb says reluctantly.

“I’ll walk you out?” Adam asks. He can’t go all the way to Caleb’s house. He has his own curfew and unforgiving parents to contend with.

“Only if you want. I know how comfy this bed is.”

Adam chuckles. “I noticed.” He kicks the blankets off his legs. “I want to.”

He helps Caleb grab all his stuff and load it back into his backpack. They walk quietly down the stairs, not because they’re afraid to wake up Adam’s parents, but because Adam’s not sure if they’re in bed trying to sleep or in their office, trying to work. Either way, he doesn’t want to disturb them.

It’s quiet as Caleb ties his shoes. Adam holds his backpack for him as he puts it on, like he’s helping Caleb put on a wool coat.

Caleb kisses Adam sweetly, pulling Adam up onto his tip toes, even as Caleb leans down to meet him.

“Goodnight, dearest.” Caleb says quietly against Adam’s cheek.

“Goodnight, love.” Adam whispers back.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prepare yourself for discussions of Tom Hardy's lips.

It’s glorious spring break, and Adam has big plans to stay over at Caleb’s house as much as possible this week.

His parents are out of town at some conference for most of the week and there’s no way in hell they’re ever trusting Annabelle to watch him ever again. Rather than letting him have free reign over the house with his boyfriend like Caleb and Adam wanted, the Michaels and his parents had concocted a plan.

Still worried about Adam’s safety after Damien, Adam would stay at Caleb’s house while the Hayes were out of town. Even though Adam is a whole entire Adult now. Adam would’ve been over at the Michaels’ house for most of spring break anyways, regardless of if his parents were in town or not.

And hey, there isn’t much stopping them from saying they were going to a movie or out for fro-yo and stopping by Adam’s house instead.

“So, do you want to watch Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, or Mad Max?” Adam asks as he climbs into bed next to Caleb. He holds the bluray cases like they’re a hand of cards, spreading them out for Caleb to see.

“Hmmmmmm,” Caleb muses. He cups his hands over his mouth. “I think we should watch Batman,” he says in a passable Bane impression.

They both giggle.

“Alright, Batman it is.” Adam opens the dvd player on Caleb’s laptop and pops the disk in. The laptop rests on a lap tray Caleb’s borrowing from his mom. Adam leans back against the mountain of pillows while the previews begin to play.

“Hey, no, wait, come here,” Caleb says and pulls on Adam’s arm.

“What?” Adam’s confused. He _is_ here already, what more does Caleb want?

“Sit in my lap,” Caleb says, and half drags Adam over.

Ohhhhh. Fuck yeah. Adam smiles.

“Yeah, okay.” Adam wiggles his way over to sit in between Caleb’s long muscley legs. He leans back against Caleb’s warm chest and Caleb’s arms envelop him and hold him tight.

Caleb grabs the popcorn from the nightstand and Adam slots it between his legs.

“Try not to chew in my ear,” Adam warns.

“I’ll do my best,” Caleb says, solemnly, as he hands Adam his soda to rest on the lap tray.

“Why are you disappointed?” Caleb asks out of the blue as the movie begins to play. He sounds very confused, like he’s missing pieces to a puzzle.

“What? I’m not disappointed.” Adam says. Now _he’s_ confused too.

“Well, now you’re just confused. But earlier, when I picked the movie, you were a little bit disappointed.”

Adam thinks back. “Oh! Ah.” He pauses and considers how much he wants to reveal. The downside of having a boyfriend with Empathy powers is that he always knows when Adam is lying, _and_ when he’s telling the truth.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to!” Caleb says hastily.

“No, it’s just… okay, look,” Adam pauses the movie. “The Bane costume— it covers his best asset for the entire movie, y’know?”

“What do you mean? His muscles are out and on display for a decent portion of the movie.”

Adam snorts. “Awww, babe, it’s so telling that you think that’s what I think his greatest asset is.”

“Aww, babe, it's so telling that you think you can dodge the question like that,” Caleb teases. He pokes Adam in the side and Adam squirms.

“Okay fine.” Adam pauses and takes a deep breath. “It’s uh. His mouth?” he squeaks out.

“His… mouth?” Caleb asks. He sounds confused. “How is his mouth his best asset?”

Adam groans and leans forwards, face in his hands. “He’s got really nice lips. Like, dick sucking lips.”

Caleb chokes on his soda. “I’m sorry, he’s got _what_ now?”

Adam twists around to look at Caleb. “Y’know, dick sucking lips.”

“I— No? I’ve got no clue what the fuck that means, babe.”

Adam can feel the tips of his ears and the back of his neck getting hot. “Dick sucking lips. It’s when someone has pretty lips and you think they’d look good sucking your dick.”

“So it’s a, like, subjective thing?”

“Ah, no, it’s more of an objective thing?” Adam pauses, trying to figure out the right words to explain it. “Like, Tom Hardy’s lips are particularly, um, plush? Like, in comparison to Christian Bale, who just has regular lips. Like, would Christian Bale be good at sucking dick? Maybe, but he wouldn’t look as good as Tom Hardy doing it. Tom Hardy’s lips are their own advertisement. You can imagine your dick resting on his bottom lip while he sucks your cock.”

“Do _I_ have dick sucking lips?” Caleb wonders.

Adam turns a critical eye on his boyfriend. He’d say he’s never thought about it before, but… “Yeah, babe, you do.” He hopes it doesn’t come out too quickly.

“Oh, sweet.” Caleb unpauses the movie and wraps his arms back around Adam. “That’s all I need to know.”

~~~

They break briefly after Mad Max to grab dinner. Caleb’s mom made tacos and Caleb doesn’t know about Adam, but he’s fucking _starving_. Man cannot live on popcorn alone.

They’re having a mini celebration tonight. His mom had a great day at work, and Caleb’s dad had a breakthrough on a new plot twist for his next book. Caleb’s filled with a bubbly joy from the moment he sits at the table, like the sparkling apple cider they drink at Thanksgiving. He basks in the feeling and let the joy wash over him.

Alice leaves the table as soon as she’s done eating, to go back to playing video games with her friends.

They chat long after they’ve stopped eating, about college and school and future plans. His parents tell stories from when they were a young couple in love. They’re all stories that Caleb’s heard before, but Adam is enraptured by them. He’s laser focused on Caleb’s parents as they talk. He nods at all the right spots, and laughs when appropriate. He asks questions that Caleb doesn’t even know the answer to. Caleb holds Adam’s hand under the table, occasionally rubbing his thumb across the back of Adam’s hand as they talk. He sometimes jumps in when appropriate, but he’s content to sit back and listen to them talk. The room is filled with so much love and warm happy feelings, and Caleb feels vibrantly grass green.

Eventually, the conversation winds down.

“Well, I’m beat,” his dad says. “Helen and I better head to bed. It was lovely talking with you Adam, you’re a very bright young man.”

Caleb’s mom nods along. “David and I are so glad Caleb has you.”

Caleb feels a burst of pride com from Adam, with a bit of surprise mixed in. He likes when Adam feels proud.

His mom stands up and presses a kiss to Caleb and Adam’s heads. “Don’t stay up too late you guys.”

“Mo _ooo_ m,” Caleb whines. “We won’t.”

“Don't worry Mrs. Michaels, I’ll make sure he goes to sleep on time. His bedtime's, what, 7? 7:30?” Adam grins.

“ _Hey_ ,” Caleb shoves Adam gently with his shoulder. “My bedtime is like, 8.”

“Oh, right, I stand corrected. I’ll be sure he’s in bed by 8,” Adam says.

They all laugh. “Goodnight boys.”

~~~

They end the night with Inception. In a wonderful stroke of irony, Adam falls asleep in the middle.

Caleb loses interest as Leonardo DiCaprio enters limbo. He stops watching the movie and watches Adam. Adam sits half slumped over, held up by Caleb’s arms. The gentle drop off of Adam’s emotions into sleep matched perfectly with his slow slide into Caleb’s arms as he nodded off.

The top spins and the screen fades to black. Caleb closes his laptop best he can without waking Adam up.

“Hey, baby, the movie’s over, you should put your pjs on and go to bed.”

“Hm? Wha?” Adam mumbles.

“You missed the second half of the movie. Go change, you’ll be more comfortable.”

“Yeah, okay.” Adam rolls out of bed, literally, and drops to the floor with a thud. He grabs his sweatpants from where he left them that morning and kicks off his jeans without any preamble.

He climbs back into bed with Caleb and faceplants onto the pillow mountain.

“G’night,” he mumbles into a pillow.

Caleb kisses the top of his beanied head. “Goodnight, Adam.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Em-Bare-Ass-Ment
> 
> Chaos

Adam’s so fucking tired. He hadn’t slept at all the night before, and there was only so much that caffeine could do. He’d dropped of some of his school shit at home before making the trek to Caleb’s. He knows he’s early to their hangout and homework session, but he’s afraid he’ll fall asleep and miss the whole thing if he stays at home. Caleb won’t even be done with football practice for… what, 30 minutes or so?

He knocks on the door of Caleb’s house and hopes that someone is there to answer. Alice gets done with middle school right after the high school gets out, and his dad usually works from home, right?

He waits for a moment, but there’s no answer.

“Dammit,” he swears under his breath. He turns to leave, when—

“Hey Adam!”

He steps back, surprised. “Hi Alice.”

They stand eye to eye, Adam on the top step and Alice two steps below. She’s only 12 and he’s almost 17, it’s not fair that she’s taller than him.

“What are you doing here?” She tilts her head to the side.

“Oh, uh.” Adam scratches the back of his head and debates how much to admit. “Caleb and I are hanging out and doing homework this afternoon.”

Alice gives him a big side eye. “Uh huh.” She doesn’t sound convinced. Alice pushes past him and starts unlocking the door. “You do know he’s not gonna be home for another hour at _least_ depending on if he showers or not.”

Well shit.

“Can I come in anyways?”

“Yeah, sure dude, I don’t give a fuck.”

Adam’s a bit taken aback by the language coming from Alice, but he follows her inside. He expects it from Caleb, but Alice is just a kid.

“Wow, language,” he says, attempting to make a joke. It falls a bit flat, even to his own ears.

Alice snorts. “Like you never swore when you were twelve.”

There's a pause.

“Oh my god. You didn’t, did you. What are you, the swearing police?” Alice wanders into the kitchen and Adam follows.

“No? I hang out with Caleb, my delicate sensibilities have long been done away with.”

Alice laughs. “That's for sure. Feel free to grab a snack,” she says, and gestures to the kitchen.

Now that he has permission, Adam makes a beeline to the fridge and grabs the bag of baby carrots he knows must be there, since Caleb brings them to lunch all the time.

“God, you two are so fucking weird,” Alice comments. “What teenage boys eat baby carrots?”

“What, it’s not that weird,” Adam says as he opens cabinets looking for a bowl.

“It’s that one,” Alice points. “Dude, it's so weird. I bet you $10 that most of Caleb’s football team don’t eat baby carrots. Actually, I’d say none of them eat baby carrots, except for maybe Ryan, he looks weird too.”

Adam laughs. “Hey, what did you mean when you said that Caleb would be home in an hour if he doesn’t shower. Does he not usually shower after practice?”

“Oh, he showers. My mom would kill him if he didn’t. He just doesn’t like showering at school, he’d rather do it at home.” Alice pours herself a bowl of chips. “I’m gonna go do my homework, feel free to let yourself into Caleb’s room. I trust you remember where it is?”

“Um, yeah.”

Alice gives him a look. “That’s what I thought.”

Why does Adam feel like he’s being judged? Oh god, does she know about his crush on Caleb? But how? Is he really that obvious?

He climbs the stairs, bowl of baby carrots in hand and tries to figure out how the fuck she knows. He takes his backpack off and sets it next to Caleb’s desk. That’s when he sees it. His holographic, rainbow, “Smol Gay” pin.

“Ah.” No fucking wonder Alice thinks he has a crush on Caleb. He knows that Caleb can be a weirdly dense person, but clearly Alice doesn’t share that trait. And she’s right too, which hurts even more. He really hopes she doesn’t tell Caleb. He doesn’t think she will though. She seems pretty chill, and doesn't seem like the kind of person to get into other people’s business like that.

God, he’s so fucking tired. And cold. Caleb’s room is at least a couple degrees colder than the rest of the house. Adam left his jacket downstairs, and he _really_ doesn’t feel like going back downstairs to get it. Caleb’s bright red Boston University hoodie catches his eye, lying discarded on the bed.

There’s no harm in wearing it while he waits for Caleb. Caleb’s offered him his jacket several times, so this isn’t any different, right?

Adam puts the hoodie on. He knows, intellectually (and… not intellectually) that Caleb is bigger than him. But it’s different when Adam is swimming in his hoodie. He buries his nose and takes a deep breath. It smells like Caleb.

Adam curls up on the bed. He’s just gonna take a nap while he waits for Caleb to get home. Better here than at home, right? That was the whole reason why he came over early. He’s a big red spot on Caleb’s bedspread. There’s no way Caleb will miss him.

~~~

“Alice, we’re home!” Caleb shouts as he opens the door from the garage. He can feel her emotions coming from her room upstairs, a brief spike of annoyance that Caleb takes a bit of pride in, followed by a brush of happiness and then back to the concentration she was feeling before. She must be doing her homework.

“I’m gonna go take a shower,” he says to his mom. “Adam should be getting here soon.”

Caleb bounds upstairs. He drops his duffle bag with all his gear into his closet and hops in the shower. If he makes it quick, he’ll be done by the time Adam gets here. He doesn’t bother to grab a change of clothes, he’ll do that when he’s done.

He’s excited to see Adam. It’s only been a couple hours since they last saw each other, but he already misses him. Is that weird? That feels a little weird. But nobody else is feeling it. It’s all his, so it can’t be weird.

Caleb comes out singing Panic at the Disco loudly. He dries his head with the towel, packer in one hand. He’s drying _both_ his heads, if you will. He dances to the music in his head. Caleb flicks the fan on and shuts the bathroom door behind him.

“I chimed in with a ‘haven’t you people ever heard of, closing the goddamn door’” Caleb sings.

Adam yells.

Caleb freezes.

Adam sits on Caleb’s bed. In Caleb’s sweatshirt. In Caleb’s room.

Fuck.

Caleb yells too.

Caleb feels the last wisps of sleepiness float away as Adam yells. Adam feels shocked and slightly embarrassed at the sight of Caleb.

Naked.

“Oh my god, _why_ ,” Caleb yells.

“Holy shit, what are you doing here?” Adam yells back.

“It’s my room, Jesus Christ, what the fuck,” Caleb splutters.

“You aren’t supposed to be back until 5:30!”

“Dude, it’s 6!”

“Oh.” Adam pauses. “Why the fuck are you naked?”

“It’s _my room_. Can I not be naked in my own room?!?”

“Not when I’m here!” Adam yelps.

“I didn’t know you were here!”

Right then, the door slams open.

“What are you too yelling abou— OH GOD,” Alice shrieks.

Caleb whips around to see Alice slap a hand over her eyes.

“Are you two having _sex_?”

“What? God, no, Alice, we aren’t even together, what the fuck.”

“Then why are you _naked_?”

“Because I was taking a _shower_! Go away Alice!”

“Alright, alright. But I’m scarred for life now and it’s your fault.”

“ _You’re_ the one who came in here!” Caleb shouts after her.

Alice slams the door.

“Can I get dressed now?” he asks.

“Oh, god, yeah, of course.” Adam buries his face in the sweatshirt. “Please, continue. Pretend like I’m not even here.”

“Right.” Because _that’s_ gonna be easy with Adam sitting _right there_ feeling all hot and bothered. Caleb can feel Adam’s face flushing without having to see it.

Caleb gets dressed as fast as possible. He can feel prickles of embarrassment coming from both of them.

“I was asleep on your bed when you came in,” Adam says.

Oh god. Was he? Caleb totally fucking missed that. Fuck.

“I guess I didn’t see you?” he admits.

Caleb slams his drawer shut and turns around. “Right. Um.” He grabs his latin textbook and sits at his desk on the other side of the room from Adam. “Homework?”

~~~

It’s a lazy summer day and neither of them are working today. They lay side by side, face up and on top of the covers in the warm darkness of their bedroom, naked as they day they were born, trying to combat the sweltering heat outside. The fans run loud in the corner, occasionally breezing cooler air over the bed.

“D’you remember the first time I saw you naked?” Adam asks out of the blue. He turns his head to look at Caleb.

Caleb doesn’t turn his head. “It was the first time we had sex, wasn’t it? When we were 17? God, that was so long ago,” he says towards the ceiling.

“No, it was before that.”

Caleb turns his head to look at Adam. “What? When was that?”

Adam props himself up on one arm to get a better look at Caleb. “Do you really not remember the time you walked in on me naked? I fell asleep on your bed and you totally fucking missed me when you got home, so you took a shower and came out fucking naked with a dick in your hand.”

“Oh my god. Fuck.” Caleb groans and puts his hands over his face. “We weren’t even dating yet were we.”

“Nope!” Adam grins. “Though I certainly didn’t mind.”

Caleb snorts against his hands. “God, fuck, _why_ did you marry me, again?”

“Because I loooove you,” Adam croons. “And I knew early on that you had a _great_ ass.”

“Hey- wait- but,” Caleb splutters and lifts his hands so he can look at Adam. “I thought I was facing forwards the whole time?”

Adam smirks. “Not the _whole_ time. I may have copped a look when Alice came in because we were yelling.” He shrugs a shoulder.

“Oh my god.” Caleb’s hands are back over his face. “Did you fucking really?”

“Well it was on full display, what was I supposed to do!”

“Not look??”

”Sue me, you’re hot! And did you really not notice, oh Great Amazing Feelings Boy?”

“ _No??_ ” Caleb squeaks. “I was a little busy!”

Adam laughs. He leans over and pulls Caleb’s hands off his face. He brushes a sweaty curl on Caleb’s temple with his thumb and presses a soft kiss to Caleb’s lips.

“I love you, you meathead.”

“I love you too, dork.”

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 2 to follow tomorrow or the day after, assuming I remember to post it.
> 
> please follow me on tumblr i occasionally remember to reblog. but if you're thirsty for that good good tbs content then follow me on my twitter
> 
> my tumblr @the-emerald7
> 
> my twitter @katiebug28


End file.
